A Stranger's Nightmare
by Peregrine Phoenix
Summary: Arthur and Alfred are complete strangers, total opposites whose paths would never normally cross. But when their dreams start to collide, it brings them together, despite the difficulty of discerning between fantasy and reality. USUK college/dreamworld AU
1. Chapter 1

"Mistakes on the part of nature, the living proof of what we're calling love.

On certain sideways streets, where things that don't match, meet."

–Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk, by The New Pornographers

A Stranger's Nightmare

Chapter One

Arthur Kirkland sloshed through puddles and sheets of rain, wanting nothing more than dry clothes and a hot cup of tea.

"If only than damn economics teacher would stop her relentless droning and let the class out _on time_ for once, I wouldn't have to put up with all this _sodding rain_," he grumbled, shoving his soaked straw-blond hair out of his eyes.

It wasn't like he even enjoyed the class. It was just a random choice to fulfill the university's required core curriculum. Arthur's true passion lay far from the realm of business and mathematics, in literature.

The earthy scent of yellowed pages, the perfect choice of words to evoke _just _the right emotions and pull on all the right heartstrings, ink on the page and stories in the heart and mind. That was Arthur's brand of magic.

…A magic that was currently fading, since he'd been using his books inadvertently to shield his head from the rain.

"ARGH-" Arthur frantically switched from using the books to protect himself to shielding them from the rain with his entire body.

Despite his best efforts, the pages were already sticking together, the ink smudging slightly, and all of his notes had become completely illegible.

Precious books ruined, all because this bloody required class was on the opposite side of campus from his dorm in the English Department. Brilliant.

_Well, nothing left to lose now._ Admitting, defeat, Arthur let the books drop to his side and trudged on miserably through the dull gray city streets. He vaguely pondered whether all this torrential rain was really common in America, or if a particularly vindictive raincloud had followed him when he left England in his late high school years and had been chasing him down ever since, intent on ensuring that he remained pale, damp, and slightly uncomfortable for the rest of his life.

A burst of color and sound and most importantly _dryness_ interrupted his reverie.

Wedged in a side street between two concrete office buildings was some sort of festival. Tents of vivid red and gold sheltered the whole alley and hung over the sidewalk, giving Arthur a brief reprieve from the rain. Strings of lamps hung overhead, dispelling the rainy gloom and giving a cheery glow to the street.

Folksy music was winding its way over from some old-timey band, and tables of merchandise lined the alley. Among the wares were ornate swords, hand-crafted jewelry, woven shirts, glittering crystals, intricate carvings, glass ornaments, even hand-bound books…

The merchants themselves were quite an extraordinary sight too. Clad in brown leather and corsets and buckles and capes, some groups resembling bands of pirates while others dressed fit to be royalty. One curious fellow was even clanking down the street in a full suit of armor, much to the amusement of a jovial playwright and his merry group of actors and admirers.

'A Renaissance Faire,' Arthur realized, letting his eyes wander the scenery and indulging he mind with thoughts of fairy tales and adventure prompted by the sight. He hadn't seen any Fairs this spectacular since he'd moved here, and he certainly wasn't going to pass up the chance to wander around for a bit here, especially since his eyes kept lingering on those gorgeous leather-bound books with ribbon bookmarks and creamy fresh pages…

Trying to forget his sopping wet shoes and dripping books, Arthur gravitated towards the Faire's bustling entrance and sidled on in.

He struggled to navigate through the cramped alleyway, especially since the merchants were all _very_ enthusiastic salespeople.

"You there! Young man! Care to buy some jewelry for your girlfriend?"

"You need protection, kid! It's dangerous to go alone, take this sword!"

"Pfft, forget those swords, one of these energy crystals can give you all the protection you need!"

"Hey sweetie, want to see who's in your future? I can do a tarot reading for you if come inside…"

Arthur desperately tried to extract his hand from the surprisingly strong grip of the fortune teller, who was still trying to drag him into her violet tent. He stumbled backwards when she lost her grip, crashing into a slender blond boy in glasses.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry-" Arthur turned and apologized to thin air. That's odd, how could he have vanished so quickly? No matter…

A hand suddenly yanked him backwards by the collar, pulling him into a large brown yurt.

"_Excuse _me, would you _mind_ not-" Arthur started, expecting to see that irritatingly persistent fortune teller again. Instead, he saw a friendly-looking, plump man with ruddy cheeks and a large nose, dressed in modest brown robes.

"Thought you might need a hand escaping from that fortune teller," the man explained, laughing heartily. "Watch out for yourself, that one's a vixen… And a fraud," he added quietly.

"Oh… er, thank you, I suppose…"

Arthur's sentence trailed off as he took in his surroundings. Although the yurt looked fairly simple and modest from the outside, matching the owner's style apparently, the interior was exquisite. The area was illuminated by dozens of finely crafted lanterns of all shapes and sizes, which dangled from the ceiling and stood on foldout shelves. The tiny candle lights glittered through colored glass covered in intricate designs, forming patterns on the canvas cover of the yurt. The overall effect was ethereal and dazzling.

"These are beautiful," said Arthur, taking a closer look at a little lantern with amethyst purple glass spinning lazily on a string overhead.

"Thank you very much, lad. The glass is all hand-stained, by yours truly of course!" The man chuckled to himself, then leaned forward with a curious expression, peering closely at the lost Brit.

Arthur shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. It felt a bit like the man's sharp grey eyes were searching for something. Just as the awkwardness got unbearable and Arthur opened his mouth to excuse himself, the man's eyes twinkled and he backed away again.

"Hold on lad. I think you could use one of these."

The man shuffled over to the edge of the yurt, and pulled out a small lantern from a plain wooden box, the ceremoniously presented it to a slightly confused Brit.

"Er… thanks awfully, but I don't really think I need one of these."

"Nonsense! It was _made_ for you, perfectly suits you really, just take a look!"

Arthur obliged the pushy salesman with a sigh. There was no doubt that the lantern was beautiful. The metal was jet black, and the top formed a dome that swirled in fine patterns with gaps to let out the candle smoke and light, and a ring at the top to hold it with. The sides were paneled with diamond-patterned glass of an intense blue, the exact shade of the cloudless skies on a perfect summer day.

But really, who used a lantern in this day and age? And in the city no less.

…Probably the same type of person who didn't own a television, and wrote all his papers with a fountain pen, and hung around second-hand bookshop searching for obscure, out-of-print novels…

"All right then, I'll take it."

"Excellent, excellent," said the salesman, handing over the delicate lantern. "You won't regret it, trust me. It'll do you a world of good. The other fella took _way_ more convincing though, lemme tell ya!"

"Er, what?"

"Oh, nothing, just talking to myself really," the man said, a bit flustered.

"Well, thank you very much," Arthur said politely, turning towards the yurt's entrance, lantern safely in tow.

"Oh, wait, one more thing!"

Arthur slowly turned on his heel.

"That'll be fifteen dollars."

※

SLAM.

Matthew cringed, grinding his teeth and making his hands into fists on his desk and trying very, very hard to stay calm in the face of the oncoming "storm"…

"HEEEEYYY BRO! How's the work goin'? I bet you were just dying for me to come in and distract you from it, huh? Anything to get out of writing that essay, right? Hahaha!"

Alfred, Matthew's twin brother, started spouting his usual nonsense while Matthew rubbed his temples and tried desperately to fend off the approaching headache. He had recently been wondering whether he should have gone to a different college than Alfred, possibly just to save his own sanity. They weren't even roommates, yet he always found himself being dragged along on his wild escapades. And then being left to clean up the mess afterwards. It was getting _very_ tiring.

"So, so would that be okay Mattie? You don't mind, do ya?"

_Crap. Wasn't listening._ "Um, sorry Al, I'm not sure I understand what you're asking…?" _There. Good save._

"Well ya seeeee, there was this new horror movie out on DVD today, and since I'm so brave and awesome and all, I went ahead and watched it in my dorm room. And, well, long story short, if I stay in the dark by myself for too long I'm gonna get eaten by demons." Alfred grinned shakily.

Ah. Of course. He should've noticed earlier, the signs were all there. Eyes open way too wide, shaky voice, sweaty palms, non-stop jiggling his right foot. He was scared witless by one of those stupid movies. Again.

"So you won't mind if I just stay here tonight, right?" Alfred was busy rearranging pillows on his brother's bed, for some reason.

Matthew struggled to keep his voice level. "Alfred, I'm actually kinda busy right now, and it's gonna be crowded once my roommate gets back, and… what, what exactly are you doing to my bed?"

"Fortifying it," Alfred replied, huddled in the middle of an impressive pillow fort. "To fend off demons. For some reason blankets and pillows feel safe, dunno why."

Matthew's eye twitched. His twin could get pretty hopeless when it came to horror movies, but he was seriously at his wits end. Enough stress had piled up during the week to make even his serene demeanor crack. And enough was enough.

He spun his chair around slowly, and stared his brother down with a menacing glare. "_Alfred F. Jones,"_ he hissed through his teeth, "_get the hell out of my room and face your own goddamn demons. I have not slept properly in days, I have a huge essay due for my psych class tomorrow, and I am quite frankly sick of dealing with you and your problems. Leave. Me. A-l-o-n-e."_

Alfred stared wide-eyed from deep inside the pillow fort. He hadn't seen Mattie this angry since Alfred accidentally broke his hockey stick while trying to pretend he knew how to demonstrate the correct technique for a slap-shot. Which was only last week, but still, he was scary when he was this pissed.

But scarier than demons? No way.

"But Maaaatttiiiieee~" Alfred whined. He was stepping on seriously thin ice here.

Matthew shut his eyes and put his head in his hands. His game must be way off if even his glares weren't getting through to Alfred. Either that, or Al was too scared shitless to care. This called for some slightly different methods.

"Alright Al. I've got something that should help you out." He scooted his chair back over to his desk, pulled out a paper bag stowed underneath it, then scooched back over near the bed with as much dignity as he could muster.

He eyed Alfred gravely over the edge of his glasses. (And the edge of the pillow fort.)

"Alfred. The contents of this bag are my gift to you. Its powers are not to be taken lightly. If used correctly, it will protect you from your fears, but if not…" Matthew widened his eyes and trailed off into an ominous silence as he reached into the bag and drew out an ornate lantern with emerald green glass, thanking his lucky stars that he was gifted with the ability to generate this sort of bullshit story quickly.

Alfred slowly raised his head from the pillow fort, staring flatly back at his brother.

"Mattie, do you seriously expect me to believe that this is some sort of magical enchanted lantern? I'm not _five_. I don't believe in _magic_. That isn't going to help me fend off any _demons_."

_Crap_. _Contingency Plan._ "No, of course it's not _magical_. But I have reason to believe it was engineered using…" He leaned in closer for the clincher. "_Alien technology."_

Now that got Alfred's attention. He leaned forward, abandoning the safety of his pillows for this ray of hope. "How do you know that?"

"Overheard the man who sold it to me talking on his cell. I'm not sure I can safely repeat what he said Al…" Matthew stared off into the middle distance dramatically. "…Anybody could be listening."

Alfred closed his eyes and nodded solemnly. Eyes snapped open again.

"But Matt, don't you think this is kind of valuable then? I mean, if it's alien tech… why're you giving it to me? Don't you need it to protect you too?"

_Argh, he's so damn inquisitive!_ "The guy at the store said it wasn't meant for me… I guess he meant it would only work for certain people?"

That much was true at least. He'd just been taking a shortcut back to the dorm, minding his own business, when he got stuck in a huge crowd at a faire, and some nutjob basically forced him to buy the lantern, then had the audacity to say it wasn't 'meant for him,' whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. What a weirdo.

Alfred finally reached out and took the proffered lantern, looking wary, but not the slightest bit skeptical anymore. He took that alien business very seriously. He examined it closely, examining the patterned glass and candle wick.

"Fire-powered tech's a little old for aliens… but I guess if it was supposed to be disguised as an ordinary human object… that's pretty smart. So I guess all I have to do is light it, huh? All right, sweet! Thanks bro!"

Alfred's grin slowly spread wider as he spoke, his heroic confidence re-emerging with his feeling of safety reinforced.

"Well, I guess I'll let you get back to your little story then!"

"_Essay_, Alfred, it's for class."

"Mmmmyeah whatever," Alfred said, losing interest in his brother already. He marched on over to the door and slammed it shut behind him, forgetting to even say goodbye.

But finally, Matthew had _peace_.

※

The textbooks had been blow-dried, the shoes left to drain out, and the lantern was lit and flickering on Arthur's desk. The clock had struck midnight hours ago and still here he was, poring over his textbooks and scribbling rapidly in a notebook. Even his insomniac Japanese roommate had long since shut his laptop and shuffled off to bed.

God, he just wanted a moment of rest and relaxation so badly. But no, not until he finished reading, not until the notes were complete, not until _bloody hell_ it's almost three in the morning already, how am I supposed to function tomorrow with all this work to do?

Arthur dropped his head into his hands and sighed. _I suppose I could leave it until tomorrow, let the study schedule go just a bit, I still have some time before the assignment's due and I've already got the bulk of it finished so it should be fine…_

Arthur's eyelids drooped as his thoughts trailed off. His head sank lower in his hands, head bobbing down slowly in the candlelit glow until it finally hit the desk and he passed out into merciful, restful slumber.

※

The sky was so vivid it almost hurt his eyes. Beautiful, painfully perfect blue from horizon to horizon, and then the same blue reflected in the calm waters all around him. He floated effortlessly, a cool breeze tickling his feathery blond hair as he leaned back and soaked up the sky.

Arthur felt all of his troubles slowly ebbing away with an invisible tide. He had no obligations here, no worries, no need to speak or smile or even think, nobody to bother with, and nothing but his own thoughts to occupy him.

And even his thoughts were pretty blank. Good. He could use a break from that too.

Blueness and silence, blueness and silence, blueness and silen-

Something bumped into his arm.

"Whoops, 'scuse me."

_Someone_ broke his silence.

_What?_

Arthur wrenched his eyes from the vibrant sky and snapped his head up, looking for the intruder of his personal paradise.

He was met with more blue. The exact same startling blue in the form of eyes, accompanied by a disarmingly cheerful grin.

Arthur gaped.

_This isn't possible. I'm meant to be alone here._

Still gaping.

The intruder floated along beside him, apparently without a care in the world, smiling serenely back at Arthur, as if he simply belonged there. Which Arthur recalled he most certainly did _not._ And this train of thought finally brought back his voice, allowing him to calmly, politely, and _oh fuck it never mind I'll shout if I want._

"Who the _HELL_ are you?"

※

…**And so ends chapter 1. Hello, I'm Crumpet, the writer. Never written anything here before, so I hope you enjoyed it so far! I'd really appreciate some feedback, tell me if anything seems far too OOC or for grammar mistakes or stylistic flubs or anything at all. I don't write too often, I'm hoping to start doing so more.**

**I do like writing a snappy Matthew. I love him when he's snarky. **

**I don't have a particular set update schedule, but I **_**do **_**have the whole story planned out. So if anybody enjoys the story, please let me know in a review, and I'll update espeeecially for you! Or it should at least motivate me, I hope.**

**Till next time, then! Thank you for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

"You'll never hear this song,

You'll never see the movie in my head.

But you infest my sleep,

And your figure creeps through my walls,

And hums above my bed."

-Hum Along, by Ludo

A Stranger's Nightmare

Chapter Two

"Who the _HELL_ are you?"

There was an awkward pause as the blue-eyed stranger stared back at Arthur in surprise. Then he slapped his hand to his forehead, laughing brightly.

"Aw man, sorry, that was kind of rude of me not to introduce myself wasn't it? I'm Alfred, Alfred F. Jones, you can call me Al if you like, some people do, I even know one guy who calls me Alfredo but I think he's just kind of hungry and pasta-obsessed all the time and who're you?"

Arthur blinked rapidly, trying to process the stranger's speedy little monologue. And his presence, which he could somehow tell _should not be…_

But Arthur's anger at his peace being interrupted dwindled in the face of this politeness_._ His gentlemanly side refused to allow him to be rude to the stranger after he had handled that outburst so civilly and introduced himself, albeit in a babbling, incoherent manner. He grudgingly opened his mouth to reply, but was quickly interrupted.

"So what the heck is this place? Some kind of ocean or something? Eh, swimming's nice I guess, but this is kind of boring, don'tcha think? It's too quiet. I was bored out of my mind until you came along! Now I have someone to talk to!"

_Not much of a conversation since I can't get a word in edgewise,_ Arthur thought, folding his arms.

Alfred continued to blather on. Arthur resigned himself to silent observation. The strange American gestured widely with his hands as he spoke and his cheerful blue eyes wandered all over the horizon as he nattered on about the surroundings and weather and quiet before his attention eventually circled back to Arthur.

In the meantime, the poor Brit had managed to come to terms with the fact that his blue sanctuary was not in fact private, and that if he had to share it with this odd newcomer, he may as well make an effort to be courteous. No need to cause unnecessary problems. Still... what a chatterbox.

"So, what's your name, stranger?"

"I'm Arthur," he quickly replied, careful not to miss the minuscule pause in the conversation.

"Nice to meetcha man!" said Alfred, grabbing his hand and giving it a good, overly firm handshake. There was no malice in the act, but Arthur's fingers would have been in danger of fracturing if the gesture had been any firmer.

"So, d'you come here often, Arthur?" Alfred asked, mercifully releasing his hand.

"Er..." No coherent response was forthcoming on that one. He hadn't really thought about it, but now... where exactly was this? How did he get here? Arthur tried to recall his most recent memories and came up blank. He was even more surprised by the fact that this didn't seem to unnerve him at all. It wasn't particularly relevant, somehow. The setting was so relaxing that he didn't care to change it or worry about it. He felt content to just be.

"Wow, you sure think everything through pretty carefully, don'tcha?"

Arthur hadn't realized that his new companion had ceased his talk and instead taken to carefully studying his face while awaiting his answer. Whoops.

"Er, sorry lost in thought. I haven't a clue where we are, and I don't think I've been here before, but... It's difficult to tell. I can't remember how I got here, you see."

Alfred grinned back. "Y'know, I was just thinking the same thing! No idea how I got here. Spooky, huh?"

Arthur was honestly a bit surprised that Alfred could manage to think and chatter on at the same time, but never mind.

Alfred went quiet and fixated his eyes on the distant horizon. Arthur didn't see anything of note over there, so he instead took a moment to get another good look at this loquacious newcomer.

The first thing he'd noticed, his sky-blue eyes, were slightly concealed behind a pair of glasses, but even hidden like that they twinkled brighter than the sun on the sea. His skin was tanned and smooth, and his face was framed with side-swept golden blond hair. Even with his face relaxed there was a hint of a smile at his mouth, ready to stretch into that startlingly charming grin that lit up his face before. His attire was a bit odd for the warm weather and the water: instead of a swimsuit or something more appropriate, he had apparently opted for a brown leather bomber jacket over a plain white tee shirt, faded jeans and even more worn converses. Arthur looked down then and realized that his own clothing choices were just as odd: he was still wearing his bottle green sweater vest from earlier... earlier when?

The memory eluded him again, and he shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts, but this just seemed to warp the entire scene in front of him even more. Or was it warped at all? Because emerging from the vast blue scene there was warm sand and waving dune grasses that certainly hadn't existed before. Perhaps Alfred had been looking at an island. Did the tide carry them over? He hadn't felt it dragging him at all.

"Land ho!" Alfred called, already climbing out of the sea onto the white sand of the beach, shaking the water off of his jacket.

"Did you see us approaching land at all? I think it must've crept up on me," Arthur said.

"Sure I saw it! I had just been hoping we might be close to shore; the middle of nowhere back there was kinda dull. And then there it was on the horizon!"

"Indeed," Arthur muttered, wrinkling his nose and already pouring sand out from one of his loafers. The beach didn't really suit him. Sunburn and sand everywhere.

Alfred, on the other hand, appeared to be perfectly in his element. The glaring sun only intensified that healthy glow, and even still drenched from the water he looked more like a magazine model than Arthur's own impression of drowned-rat chic.

Alfred glanced over and met his eyes, and Arthur realized he'd been staring. Rude. Embarrassed, he averted his eyes and turned his thoughts back to the topic at hand: island. _God I hate sand._

"So how about it Arthur? Wanna explore for a bit?" Alfred said, gesturing inland, where it became a tangle of trees and vines. "It'll be an adventure! You can be my sidekick, since it's pretty obvious I'll be the hero." He puffed out his chest and struck what he must've thought would be a gallant pose.

The posing certainly didn't inspire any confidence in Arthur. "Can't we just relax for a minute? We only just got here after all, don't you want to just enjoy the scenery for a bit?" _Running off into the jungle for no reason at all isn't exactly my idea of a good time…_

"Aw c'mon Artie! It'll be great, trust me. I mean, Desert Island and all, who knows? Maybe there's a waterfall? Or a volcano! Or treasure!"

_Or venomous snakes. Or wildcats. Or really a volcano…_ Arthur's face went stony as he considered the alternatives.

He instead opted to flop down in the sand, pulling his knees up under his chin, scowling at the ocean and briefly pretending Alfred did not exist.

Alfred was still looking at Arthur expectantly, as if he could not possibly fathom why someone would _not_ want to go looking for volcanoes and treasure. Arthur glared back, expecting he'd get the message eventually. _No I do not want to wander through the jungle. Leave me alone._

Apparently Alfred's mind-reading perception skills were rather lacking. He grinned, took two large strides over to Arthur, grabbed him by the hand, pulled him up to his feet, and started pulling him off into the jungle, despite his protests.

※

The shadowy green jungle hummed with life. Exotic birds soared through the canopy of the trees, revealing themselves with flashes of vibrant hues cutting through the emerald leaves. Wild animal calls that neither of the boys could recognize reverberated off the tangled vines of the trees. Insects chirped and chirruped, creating a medley of rising sound so completely alive that you could practically hear the heart of the wilderness itself.

And Alfred thundered through it all without a care in the world.

He hadn't felt so exhilarated for ages.

The sounds of the wild fell silent as he passed, feet slamming into the uneven ground, leaping over fallen trees and skidding on the mossy earth. He let out a random laugh of joy, just for the sake of letting out some of the happiness he was overflowing with.

Behind him his new friend Arthur stumbled along, cursing a steady stream of profanities under his breath directed at the jungle, the insects, Alfred, life, the universe, and everything. He seemed to be struggling to keep up a bit, so Alfred did slow down incrementally, but only as much as his excitement could manage. He could hardly help being so speedy though; he had to stay in shape for football.

It wasn't often he could be so carefree nowadays. College life had been starting to weigh down on even his usually upbeat personality a bit. Economics and business classes were no joke, and even though they tried to tone it down, his parents were still putting a lot of pressure on him to succeed and pass everything with flying colors. And being the star of the college social scene didn't exactly give him a lot of time to study. Not that he even _liked_ studying. He couldn't understand why anybody would want to shut themselves up in a library when they could be running in an open field or talking with new people. That's all he wanted to do with his time, anyways.

_This is pretty awesome too though,_ he thought to himself, tightening his hand on Arthur's wrist. Maybe the grumpy-guts Brit wasn't the ideal adventuring companion, but with a bit of practice he might make a decent sidekick. Plus he looked kind of cute when he was pouting.

※

The jungle was growing lighter and Arthur was running out of breath, out of patience, and out of his mind. The sheer _nerve_ of this reckless git who had him captive by the wrist was absolutely appalling. Even more appalling than that, the earful of abuse he was doling out seemed to be completely ineffective. Couldn't penetrate the American's thick skull at all, apparently.

Alfred was stronger than he looked, too, which was quite surprising seeing as he already looked like an Olympian carved from marble. Ran like an Olympian too, good grief. Even when Arthur tried to pull his wrist free and slow down he was yanked forward like a fish on a hook. And he wished Alfred had just grabbed his sleeve or something instead of his hand, it was making him self-conscious.

The pair emerged racing from the jungle trail into a sandier clearing. Glimpsing the sky again reminded Arthur once more of the safe blue haven he had been unceremoniously yanked out of by this pushy American idiot, and his temper rose up again.

"Will you _please STOP MANHANDLING ME!_"

Alfred skidded to a stop and whipped his head around, eyebrows raised and eyes wide.

Arthur seized the moment of surprise to snatch his hand away and cross his arms over his chest protectively. Back in control of his limbs, his earlier embarrassment faded away and gave in to pure rage.

"What the hell is your PROBLEM! You can't just yank total strangers off on adventures because you bloody well FEEL like it!"

"But were not strangers, we're friends— "

"I have _not _agreed to be your friend," Arthur replied, grinding his teeth. "I hardly even know you!"

"But I—"

"Could you _please_ shut up and stop listening to the sound of your own voice for just _one_ second! This is a _deserted_ island. There is _nothing_ to look for, there is _nothing_ special, there is no buried treasure or, or lost civilization to find, there is absolutely nothing here, alright?"

Alfred seemed to be paying more attention to Arthur's feet than his words. Which only added fire to his furious rant.

"So _if_ you don't mind, or _if_ you're even paying an ounce of _attention_, I'm going back to where we started, and I would be _eternally_ grateful if you left me alone!"

"But Arthur, I'm really pretty sure there is actually a treasure here..."

"And _what, _what _exactly_ is giving you that impression Alfred?"

Alfred looked up again from the ground and met Arthur's eyes, face blank. A sly smile slowly spread across his face, but no explanation was forthcoming.

"Oh for the love of—why is it, that whenever I want you to shut up, you don't listen, and now that I want you to explain yourself, you've finally managed to shut your face?" Arthur stomped in frustration—and the ground collapsed beneath his feet.

The moment of panicky falling ended promptly with Arthur landing hard on his backside a split second later and seven feet under. A cloud of sand and debris engulfed him, getting in his eyes and mouth and sending him into a coughing fit.

With a soft thud, Alfred landed gracefully on his feet next to him, before leaning back and sitting too, chuckling gently as the dust and sand cleared.

"I did try to warn you, you were standing on a giant 'X'! Usually marks the spot for treasure, right? I thought we'd at least have to dig for it though; thankfully you helped us skip that part. Lucky us!"

Arthur spluttered and coughed, feeling quite the opposite of 'lucky.' Rubbing the bits of sand out of his eyes, he strained his eyes to see in the darkness around them. The hole in the ceiling let in a spotlight of sunshine, but did little to illuminate their surroundings.

Arthur glanced up and realized there was no way back up either. The surface was far out of reach.

"Well, no way to go but forward right?" Alfred said. He pushed himself up and turned to Arthur, pausing.

"Do you… want to come with me, or…?"

Apparently Arthur's words had made an impact after all. Arthur stared down at his knees. The panic of the fall had used up all his energy, and now he just felt guilty for his angry words, especially since Alfred had apparently been right. There was something hidden on the island, even if it was just an underground cavern.

"Well you're certainly not leaving me in the dark by myself," Arthur eventually replied, standing up and brushing the dirt off of his trousers.

Alfred looked slightly relieved at the Brit's acquiescence, but his shoulders were still tense though as he peered off into the darkness.

"Right. Adventuring. In… in the dark. Eheh." He turned his head to look back at Arthur with a sheepish smile.

_Mr. Mighty-Hero's afraid of the dark. Really._ Arthur gave Alfred a long look, then shut his eyes and sighed. This time, he grabbed onto Alfred's sleeve, and began to walk off into the gloom.

They treaded on slowly, with their free hands stretched out in front of them, on and on until the light behind them was no longer visible. The cavern was silent except for the sound of their light footsteps and Alfred's loud breathing, slowly becoming more frantic.

"Arthur, I think maybe we should turn back after all."

"Oh shut it you idiot. This was your idea in the first place, now suck it up and stick to it."

Alfred made a pitiful whining noise, but said no more. Instead he pulled his sleeve out of Arthur's grip and instead grasped his hand tightly. Arthur was glad for the darkness, because his face turned beet red. These Americans… no sense of personal boundaries. But he didn't let go: the poor fool was terrified, his palms were sweating, and he couldn't abandon him now. It would be like kicking a helpless puppy. A helpless puppy that was afraid of the dark…

Arthur stopped in his tracks and Alfred walked straight into him, almost knocking him over. But he could see something up ahead. A dot of glowing orange light. He started marching on again, picking up the pace now that they had a goal.

The darkness began to fade and the pair broke into a run. There was a doorway up ahead, and after the pitch darkness had started to play tricks on their eyes they desperately wanted to be in that light. And then they made it through the entranceway, into the warm light.

The pairs' eyes gradually adjusted to the new surroundings, and Arthur gasped.

Books.

Piles and piles of beautiful shining books filled the cavern, stretching off as far as he could see. They lay in a mishmash medley of flowing words, with gold and silver-edged pages and swirling illustrated leather covers.

"Books, huh?" he heard Alfred murmur, sounding slightly disappointed. "Not exactly the treasure I was looking for…"

Arthur ignored him and ran off, skidding to a halt in front of the nearest pile, his face alight with awe. He delicately lifted a scarlet-bound book from the top of the precarious stack and slowly opened to a center page, as if he were opening a present. The pages were filled with hand-painted illuminations and calligraphy that danced in front of Arthur's eyes and off the very pages. They swirled around his head and off behind him to Alfred, who he finally noticed was peering over his shoulder. The glimmering words glanced off his cheek and lit up his face.

And this time Arthur was the first one to smile.

※

**Important Note: I am quite a slow writer as well as a bit of a perfectionist as it turns out. So updates will likely be slow, but they will never stop completely. I actually rewrote most of this chapter, and had to stop myself doing it a second time.**

**Also they're about to get even more disjointed because I'm leaving for Japan on Friday, March 30th. The first week will leave very little time to write since I'll be traveling and being touristy, then I'll be settled in the same place for three months. That might take some adjusting and get in the way of things a bit, I apologize in advance!**

**Hrmm. I think so far character development is the most difficult thing about writing… How to make two people gradually and believably like each other. Give it time, I'll make it happen! ;D**

**I **_**really **_**like using italics for emphasis too, you **_**may**_** have noticed.**

**Thank you very much for the reviews and favorites and alerts, I'm flattered! And thank you for reading. It's all very encouraging, I'll keep going!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Just a dream, just an ordinary dream.

As I wake in bed

And the boy, that ordinary boy,

Or was it all in my head?"

Ordinary Day, by Vanessa Carlton

A Stranger's Nightmare

Chapter Three

"Arthur-san… Arthur-san?"

He slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head from the desk, one of his papers sticking to his cheek.

"Mnuh?" he said eloquently.

"Arthur-san… did you try to stay up all night studying? You should not fall asleep like that, you may catch a cold," Kiku chided.

Arthur's eyes slowly focused on his roommate's pale face. Kiku's dark brown eyes blinked curiously back at him as he stood beside the desk.

Arthur was having trouble gathering his thoughts. Half his mind was still asleep, and in his sleep had been… a dream? Just a dream? The revelation hit Arthur hard in the gut, and he wasn't quite certain why. He stared down at his desk again before he could formulate a sentence.

"What… what time is it?"

"Already 9 o'clock… your first class is at 10, correct? We could go for breakfast together first. But perhaps you should sleep, you overworked yourself yesterday."

Kiku put a hand over his mouth, a worried expression on his face. Arthur smiled. The Japanese boy had been so quiet in the first few weeks, but he became quite the mother hen once they got to know each other. He was lucky they'd become friends.

"It's fine, I'll join you for breakfast. Let me just get myself organized…"

Kiku smiled and moved off to his own side of the room. Arthur was actually more concerned about organizing his thoughts than his stuff though. As he mechanically went through his morning routine, his mind was focused only on his dream from the previous night.

_Only a dream_. It felt wrong, somehow, to think that way. It had felt more realistic than the floor beneath his feet or the papers in his hands. And oddly enough, he recalled every detail easily. Usually his dreams drained slowly from his mind from the moment he woke up, but he could still remember the vastness of the blue sky, and the feeling of the sand between his fingers, and the strong warm grip of Alfred's hand.

Alfred. Hah! That was the absolute truth that it must have been a dream. What an odd character he was! And a total pain in the arse, no doubt about it. Such a person could only possibly exist in the convoluted depths of the subconscious, although Arthur was a bit surprised and, to be honest, embarrassed, that his mind had dreamt him up at all. What exactly does it say about him that his brain is dreaming up overly-friendly, attractive blond Americans?

Arthur sighed, exasperated but faintly smiling.

"Arthur-san?" Kiku called him, sitting cross-legged on his bed, with a comic book, while he waited. "You seem a bit distracted… is something bothering you, perhaps?"

Arthur sat back down at his desk chair and began to spin the tale of his odd dream adventure to his friend. But when he reached the part about Alfred, he was suddenly less forthcoming. The idea of the bespectacled blond boy seemed too private, and perhaps a bit embarrassing… he quickly edited him out of the story.

After telling his tale to an interested Kiku, Arthur finished packing his bag and headed towards the door. He paused at the threshold and glanced back to his desk. His lantern's candle had extinguished itself.

_Good,_ he thought. _No fire hazard there then, I can light it when I want._ His eyes lingered on the blue glass, the exact same sky blue he'd seen in that strange boy's eyes…

Arthur quickly looked away and departed for the cafeteria with Kiku.

※

Across the city campus, another student had a ruder awakening.

"ALFREEEED! Hey, hey, hey, wake up already!"

Im Yong Soo was already rocketing around the room at his usual pace, which was at least twice as much as a normal human being. Considering his height, it was quite dangerous to be in the same dorm.

'_How does he have so much energy so earlyyyy,' _Alfred thought, as he grimaced and smushed his pillow over his ears.

Yong Soo was having none of that shit.

"It is _time_ to _be_ AWAKE!" he said, punctuating each word with a tug on Alfred's pillow.

Alfred retaliated by letting go and burying himself in his blanket instead, sending his excitable roommate flying.

Yong Soo landed with a thud and scrabbled back to his feet, still grinning.

"You won't escape that easily!"

"Why won't you just let me sleep?! It's still early! My class isn't till later! Let me goooooo…"

Yong Soo ignored Alfred's pleas and returned to tugging at the blankets with all his strength.

"It's almost… eight o'clock… here in the US… which means… in Korea… it's nine o'clock… and time… to watch… my drama!"

Alfred sprang from the bed and grabbed Yong Soo by the collar, bringing their faces nose-to-nose. He spoke as if the world itself depended on the answer to his single question:

"_Which. Drama._"

Yong Soo's shocked expression morphed into a wide grin. Hook, line, and sinker. Yong Soo had put a lot of effort into getting Alfred addicted to Korean dramas, so he was damn pleased to see it being so effective. He grabbed onto Alfred's shoulders and with the utmost gravitas, replied:

"It is the season finale of _Twelve Moon Promise_. Only now will we finally discover the fate of the star-crossed lovers, and the identity of our heroine's true parents, and witness the reuniting of the long-lost siblings!"

They stared into each others eyes for a moment of silence before simultaneously rocketing off to opposite sides of the room, grabbing their laptops, and frantically searching for livestreams of the episode.

It wasn't until the credits were rolling that Alfred finally had time to focus on the drama in his own mind, rather than on his laptop screen.

That angry little British guy. Meeting someone so grumpy and snappy was kind of a big change, since a ton of people he hung out put him on a pedestal. But that guy had no idea who he was and had treated him accordingly. It was kind of weirdly refreshing to meet somebody so straightforward. Besides that, he was cute when he got angry… which had been most of the time come to think of it. But he was cute when he smiled too, just that one time.

And what an awesome adventure too! A desert island, a secret tunnel… Alfred turned his head to Yong Soo to tell him about it, but was interrupted by his roommate's loud wailing.

Oh right. The drama made him cry. Well, it was a pretty emotional finale.

Alfred managed to hold back on the talk of his dream, instead opting to stabilize his roommate's feelings, and convince him to go out for food instead. He shoved his gear into a backpack for class later and headed on out with Yong Soo, trying to focus more on the present reality than that compelling dream. '_Reality has enough drama,'_ Alfred thought, _'I can do without the extra.'_

※

The nasal quality of his English professor's voice had a particularly unfortunate habit of gently lulling the weaker minds in class to sleep. Arthur, however, put in the extra effort to focus his attention and keep his eyes wide open.

Not that he really needed to focus right now. The class was going over the finicky details of English grammar, which had always come quite easily to Arthur. He had a natural talent in the subject, so if he wanted to he could easily get by with glossing over the finer points. But out of pure diligence and respect for the professor, he persevered through the long class.

The same could not be said for his fellow classmates. The large lecture hall was occupied by at least fifty students, the majority of whom were nodding off to sleep, or texting behind their notebooks. A small bunch directly behind Arthur had chosen this as a good time to make plans for the afternoon. Being quite close to the front of the classroom didn't faze them, nor did Arthur's silent rage at their chattering.

Arthur focused on the professor's shiny bald spot, trying to tune out the mindless chitchat and concentrate despite his irritation. He just needed to pay attention for the last ten minutes of class to the teacher droning on about gerunds and then he would be free for the rest of the afternoon. But his eyes slid off to the side once again, following the crisp sound of crumpled paper.

Two students to the side of him were chortling and passing notes. Doodling on each other's notebooks. Doodling on _the textbooks_. Arthur sucked in a breath through his teeth and tried counting to ten. Defacement of pure literary goodness was something he was unable to tolerate. But not a rant, not now, not in class. He clenched his teeth and glared daggers at the vandals, eventually dragging his eyes back to the professor's bald patch.

Arthur had nobody in class to pass notes to, even if he wanted to. '_But obviously I don't, what a waste of my classtime,'_ Arthur thought. Still, he couldn't help but think of Kiku, off doing a different major, having finished all the core requirement classes and with no chance of being in Arthur's classes again. Or the other members of his club, all doing different things and running in different social circles. Except for Arthur.

Not that anybody ever went out of their way to talk to him at all. His prickly demeanor and constantly being the professors' favourite hardly made him more approachable.

Arthur sighed and shifted his gaze back to the front. But his attention was still elsewhere.

Alfred had gone out of his way to talk to him though. He had bothered to chat with some random guy floating around in the ocean. And Alfred had stuck with him throughout their brief adventure.

'_Not that there was anybody else to speak to. I mean, of course he spoke to me since I was the only one around. If I hadn't been present, that idiot probably would've chattered with the passing fish. He's no different from everybody else here.'_

Arthur once again attempted to rein in his thoughts. Thinking about Alfred made his stomach feel a bit fluttery, and he wasn't comfortable with that. Besides, the boy was merely fictional, made of nothing but subconscious thoughts and external influences.

'_Even if he were real,'_ Arthur thought, _'he'd be no different from all the other idiots here. Neglecting lessons, getting wasted at parties, ignoring his presence… All the same.'_

The bell rang, finally saving Arthur from his own rambling thoughts and aching head. He packed up his notes and immediately sought respite in the library, to cool his head. His emotions were being kind of weird at him, and he wished they would kindly _desist._

※

Alfred, meanwhile, was also in class.

He had been thinking of skipping it, since he really just wasn't feeling the whole academic thing today… But he went anyways. Didn't want the professor to get all pissy and drop his grade.

But even though his body was present, his mind wasn't all there. He was very busy doodling in the margins of his notebook. He had become quite the expert at stick figure drawings due to these classes.

As the professor spoke, tiny sketches formed next to Alfred's old notes. Palm trees, fish, an island, a volcano, the ocean, and a little stick figure boy.

He stopped to survey his work, while the professor was writing out calculus equations on the board. Alfred could already manage those pretty well though, no need for it to disrupt his doodling time.

So instead his mind went into rewind. He thought about the cute girl he chatted with on the walk to class, and of the cliffhanger at the end of the morning Korean drama, and finally of the boy in his dream from the night before. Arthur.

The guy had just looked completely worn out. He half mistook him for a dead body when he first saw him floating there. But the second his eyes opened it was like a switch flipped and suddenly he was spitting fire, the exact opposite of his polite and tired appearance. And the surprise had interested Alfred enough to pursue a conversation. Then again, it didn't take much for Alfred to talk. But it took a lot more for him to listen.

And listen he did. Arthur's frankness shocked him, but it didn't bother him. Instead he found it almost refreshing. These days most people were pretty content to just go along with whatever he said, always agreeing and letting him do what he wanted. The only person who bothered to set him straight was Mattie, and Alfred appreciated being taken seriously. Although that certain type of person could probably learn to be less of a killjoy…

He shut his eyes and tried to bring up a solid memory of Arthur's appearance. His hair, for starters, looked like it had never been introduced to a comb, or possibly just had a messy breakup with it. He remembered that he had looked cute when he smiled, even though it took a long time to get to that point. But he also looked cute when he was angry, and that took way less effort. Alfred picked up his pen again and tries to sketch out a likeness from his memories.

After a few minutes he gave up. He couldn't get the smile right, it had been better than that. He tried scribbling a giant frown over it instead and snorted with laughter. Closer, but still not exactly right. So he scribbled the whole thing out, deciding that it's probably dumb to keep thinking about anyways. It was only a dream.

The bell rang and everyone started shuffling out, but the bell unfortunately couldn't drown out the professor's announcement of a test tomorrow.

Crap. Alfred was good, but not _that_ good. And doodling his way through the whole class hadn't exactly helped his case. Now he would have to put in _effort_. Ah well, his own fault and all.

Alfred decided to hit up the library, and gravitated towards a vaguely familiar group of classmates to see who would join him. Of course, being Alfred F. Jones had its advantages, and he quickly had a pretty sizable group of classmates following his lead to hit the books. Hopefully one of them took actual notes…

※

Another noisy crowd walked into the library and Arthur slowly raised his eyes from his book, unblinking. He stared straight ahead and puffed out a sigh. Talking loudly in class was one thing, but the library was practically a sanctuary. Breaking the silence was not an excusable offence, in his private opinion. Though the librarians tended to lean away from corporal punishment these days.

He tried to focus again on his novel. It was _Treasure Island _by Robert Louis Stevenson,just a bit of light reading. He just wanted to take his mind off things for a bit. Unfortunately the book had rather the opposite effect, as it reminded him again of his own private island. Well, not private, since he had shared it with Alfred. But they had both held treasure.

Arthur sighed and shut the book, returning it to the nearby shelf and cringing at the loud, inane chatter that came from the tables on the other side of the shelves. He tried to tune it out as he selected another book from the shelf. _Beowulf_. The excitement from the action in it and the difficulty of the old language usually helped him take his mind off of things.

He returned to his table and flipped straight to the Third Battle, with the dragon fight. It had always been his favourite part. Fantastic creatures and mythical beasts had always fascinated him, so he liked to read about Beowulf and Wiglaf slaying the dragon together. That was true friendship; helping each other to slay dragons… difficult to test the mettle of those friendships without any dragons about though.

More raucous laughter carried over from across the bookshelves. Arthur put the book down and shut his eyes, resting his head in his hands for a moment. If everyone else was just there to chat, he would have to take his business of relaxing elsewhere. He picked up his bag and checked out the book, leaving through the main doors without a glance back.

※

Alfred sat in the library, his back facing a row of shelves. Math books were strewn across the desk, but everyone was too busy talking to even glance at them. No studying was getting done. Alfred thought talking is okay and cool and all, but he really needed to do well in that class.

He had asked one guy in his class to join him, then he asked a friend, then some girls wanted to join them, then more people… He hadn't expected such a crowd. But hey, if people wanted to talk to him, Alfred wasn't going to refuse. He liked to talk with people.

He heard stomping feet, and glanced toward the door, just in time to see it closing. Hunh. Somebody sounded pissed. Eh, doesn't matter. He turned his attention back to the group.

※

That afternoon, Arthur tentatively pushed open a classroom door. Classes had long since ended, and the only other thing that occupied his time was this, the college newspaper club. And unfortunately, the club itself tended to have more drama than the news itself.

From the sound of it, this meeting would be no different.

"For the last time, you are a _no-talent hack_, and we have _no place_ for you on our pages! Back me up here Roderich!"

"Well he's certainly never produced anything worthwhile in the past, I don't see why now would be any different. We can't afford to waste paper on rubbish."

"HEY! I'm a freaking AWESOME writer, you should be _begging_ me to add to your un-awesome little news rag! I mean, do you even KNOW how many Twitter followers I have? How many pageviews are on my blog? Well it's pretty damn impressive!"

Arthur briefly considered backing out the door again, but as co-editor, he couldn't shirk his duties in good conscience. Gilbert Beilschmidt wasn't technically on the team, but he spent enough time in the clubroom bothering people that he might as well have been, much to Roderich and Elizaveta's chagrin. Contributing to the newspaper could give you credit for certain classes, which on one hand ensured enough participation to keep it going, and on the other hand gave them certain immoral people looking for an 'easy' GPA boost every semester. People like Gilbert.

"Arthur! It's about time you showed up! Help me kick this narcissistic lunatic out of here," Elizaveta said.

Gilbert spluttered. "Narci-wha? C'mon, you've gotta appreciate my awesomeness more than that!"

"No, no, no, I'm not picking sides here. If you're going to argue, just take it outside. I already feel a headache coming on…" said Arthur, rubbing his temples with one hand and setting his bag down on an empty desk.

Elizaveta and Gilbert glared at each other once more and sat down in their own chairs. Roderich, the other co-editor was rifling through some papers already. Kiku walked in right on time and sat down next to Elizaveta.

"Alright, let's get this started then. Everyone report, what have you got to contribute?" said Arthur.

Elizaveta's hand shot up immediately. "I've already written at least four columns on _this_ latest scandal, you've got to hear it." She launched into a detailed explanation of the current college social scene: who's dating whom, student government blackmail, two-timing jocks, cheating academics. Elizaveta ran a sporadic gossip column, which was pretty popular, although nobody knew where she dug up all that dirt from. Arthur suspected that she had sources everywhere… just a hunch.

Roderich wrote up reviews of theatrical and musical performances on campus, and sometimes even movies if he deigned them artful enough to pay to see. Kiku was their resident photographer, and sometimes helped Elizaveta rustle up some 'evidence' for her gossip.

And Arthur's job was trying to pull it all together and keep everything neat and tidy, all the while keeping up a running column about campus life.

Arthur turned his attention back to Elizaveta and realized that she and Gilbert were arguing and making a racket again. They were even pulling on each other's _hair_, for goodness sake. Roderich was pointedly ignoring them and primly examining his nails, and Kiku flipped through the photos on his camera. It was clear who was meant to deal with these situations.

Arthur sighed and stood up to intervene again. It was going to be a long meeting.

※

Alfred finally got back to his dorm late that evening, collapsing on his bed and flicking on the television.

He had struggled to get away from the so-called 'study group.' Everybody kept on chatting with him until the day had dwindled away, and he ended up going out for pizza with the same group he had 'studied' with.

The history channel was showing some documentary about castle town ruins in Scandinavia. He channel surfed for a while between weird game shows and movies before deciding to hit the hay. It was late anyway, and nothing was worth watching.

Alfred lit his little green lantern to fend off the demons and settled down to sleep.

※

Breathing in the comforting scent of wood smoke, Arthur slowly opened his eyes. The timber cabin was warm, almost uncomfortably so. A cozy, flickering orange glow dimly lit the room, but there was no fireplace to be seen. The light was pouring through the room's only window. Perhaps it was sunset?

A terrible roar smashed through the silence and shattered Arthur's initial sense of calm. He ran to the window, looking for some sign of the source, some idea of what course of action to take.

There was no missing it. Angry flames engulfed all the wooden houses in view, and licked up the black scales of an enormous beast. Giant fangs, deadly claws, demonic leathery wings, spitting fire and glowing with rage.

A dragon was tearing up the town, and Arthur was sitting right in its path.

※

**I cannot apologize enough for the delay for this chapter. That was ridiculous. My unsatisfying excuses are being in Japan and now University are experiences that have hit me like a sixteen-wheeler on the freeway. But fear not, as I promised, I won't be giving up on this story. I know how it ends, after all, I need to let you know too! **

**I can't promise regular updates. But hopefully there won't be any more delays that long. I will try and write more regularly.**

**This chapter in particular was a pain though. I like writing about their dreams way more than their waking lives, but I wanted to at least give some background on who they are and what they do normally. Glad to get it over with.**

**Till next time, then. Thank you for reading! And please do review, it helps keep me motivated!**


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